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Zusammenfassung von The Tao of Physics

Name: The Tao of Physics
Rating: 4.3 (191 reviews)
Author: Fritjof Capra

Fritjof Capra

An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

4.3 (191 Bewertungen)

22 Min.

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Physics Eastern Philosophy

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The Tao of Physics
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What’s in it for me? Discover the link between modern physics and ancient Asian wisdom.

Science and religion are often considered entirely disparate concepts and a clear line is often drawn between Western “rational thinking” and more intuitive or spiritually oriented Eastern schools of thought. But as you’ll see in these blinks, when we compare some of the fundamental notions of the major Eastern religions – namely Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism – with modern science, especially modern physics, we see many similarities.

Whether it’s the basic interconnectedness of all particles or the nature of space and time in Einstein’s theory of relativity, it seems that Eastern religions have been presenting similar concepts for millennia.

Although science has made huge strides since the book’s first publication in 1975, The Tao of Physics remains a source of inspiration for believers and atheists alike.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

what sort of paradoxes are found in both quantum physics and Eastern religions;
how particles and waves can be seen as a parallel to yin and yang; and
why there is no space without time, and no time without space.

Western science and Eastern mysticism may have clear differences, but they also share striking similarities.

What do modern physics and Eastern mysticism have in common? At first glance, it may seem like nothing at all. Physics is a science expressed through the highly precise and rational language of mathematics, while Eastern mysticism, encompassing the religious philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, is a spiritual discipline based primarily on meditation.

That being said, the two domains have compelling parallels, all of which begin with the human notion of “knowledge.” Generally speaking, knowledge can be broken into two forms, the rational and the intuitive.

While they’re clearly distinct, both forms can be seen in Western science and Eastern mysticism alike. For instance, science is widely considered the realm of rational knowledge. It’s a practice of measuring and quantifying to classify and analyze material reality.

By contrast, Eastern mystics are more interested in intuitive knowledge that goes beyond intellectual positions or sensory perceptions. They seek a nonintellectual experience of reality that can be obtained through meditative states of consciousness.

Nonetheless, the rational side of physics also enjoys an intuitive component; scientists would never get anywhere without the creativity needed to develop theories and gain new insights. Similarly, there’s a rational element to Eastern mysticism.

Much like physicists, Eastern mystics learn through observation. The only difference is that, while a physicist observes through scientific experimentation, mystics observe through introspection.

Yet despite this overlap, there’s also a fundamental difference between the fields, specifically that Western philosophy is based on a separation between the body and the mind. After all, Western philosophy, and therefore science, stems from ancient Greek learning, which was premised upon precisely this difference.

Just take the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, whose atomist school made a clear delineation between matter and spirit. Such an idea became core to Western thought, leading to a dualism between mind and matter.

By contrast, Eastern thought has at its core a basic assumption of the oneness of all things.

Physics has transformed over time to reach a conclusion long held by Eastern mystics.

For Eastern mystics, deep spiritual experiences shape the way the universe is perceived. Interestingly enough, physicists in the early twentieth century felt much the same way as they explored the atomic world.

In fact, modern physics, in general, has revolutionized the worldview put forward by classical practitioners of the field. But first, let’s consider what physics was like in its classical incarnation.

Hinduism and Buddhism share many key features, from the oneness of life to spiritual enlightenment.

You’ve likely heard about Hinduism and probably don’t know much about it. That’s only reasonable, since Eastern religion and philosophy generally have a rather esoteric aim: the attainment of deep mystical experiences.

Hinduism emerged in ancient India and uses as its main spiritual guide the Vedas, a collection of scriptures written between 1500 and 500 BC by a variety of anonymous sages. The religion’s core message is that everything and every event in the world is simply a different expression of the same ultimate reality.

In old Chinese thought, notions of unity, as well as of continuous flow and change, also predominate.

There are two basic aspects of ancient Chinese thought. First, since the ancient Chinese were a practical people, their philosophies centered around social life, morals and government. But to complement this pragmatic focus, ancient Chinese philosophy also has a mystical side, which offers transcendence of the social world into a higher state of consciousness.

In the sixth century B.C., these two sides developed into distinct philosophical schools. The first, Confucianism, revolves around social organization, while the second, Taoism, is all about the observation of nature.

Eastern mysticism and modern physics both believe that the universe is bound by a basic unity.

People tend to divide things into distinct experiences, objects or events. We distinguish between table, chair and soul to help us cope with and navigate our everyday environment.

However, for the Eastern mystic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, such distinctions are illusions, none of which are a fundamental characteristic of nature. Rather, for these religions, the universe is characterized by a basic unity.

Einstein’s theory of relativity unifies space and time, further connecting physics to Eastern mysticism.

In classical physics, space and time are clearly delineated concepts. According to this school of thought, humans live in three-dimensional space, which is independent of time.

In modern physics, however, no such separation exists; Einstein’s theory of relativity unifies both space and time, leading to a new view that all measurements of the two concepts are relative.

According to physicists and mystics alike, the universe is a dynamic, constantly transforming place.

To the Eastern mystic worldview, the notion of the world as a dynamic, ever-changing place has long been an essential feature. And now, for modern physics, and quantum physics in particular, the universe can be understood in a largely similar way.

For instance, according to quantum physics, or the study of the atomic and subatomic world, particles are in perpetual motion. The reason for this is that whenever subatomic particles find themselves confined to a small section of space, they begin to move around. Not only that, but the smaller the area, the faster they move.

Modern physics unifies matter and space, in yet another parallel to Eastern mysticism.

The full and the empty, matter and space – in classical physics, these two concepts are clearly separated. However, in the nineteenth century, with the discovery of the concept of the field by Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell, such an understanding began to shift.

The first field to be discovered was the electric field, a condition in space induced by a charged body that exerts force on any other charged body in the same space. However, the real rupture came when this concept of the field became associated with the force of gravity.

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Worum geht es in The Tao of Physics?

The Tao of Physics (1975) explores the relationship between the hard science of modern physics and the spiritual enlightenment of Eastern mysticism. These blinks lay out striking parallels between relativity theory and quantum theory on the one hand and Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism on the other.

Bestes Zitat aus The Tao of Physics

. . . there is an essential harmony between the spirit of Eastern wisdom and Western science.

—Fritjof Capra

Wer The Tao of Physics lesen sollte

Those with an inclination toward rational thought
Practitioners of Eastern mysticism and anyone with a spiritual side
Students of philosophy, science and religion

Über den Autor

Fritjof Capra holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Vienna. He is a prolific author and lecturer on the philosophical aspects of modern science. Capra’s other books include The Turning Point, Uncommon Wisdom and The Web of Life.

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